Unseen

Chapter 2

I moan into my pillow as Philip spreads the sav over my back, hissing as he hits a particularly sensitive spot. He doesn’t say anything and neither do I. There’s nothing to be said.

As soon as I got my twenty lashes, the Emperor sent Alex away, knowing how best to punish me. The Emperor always did. So it’s Philip who cares for me while I’m too weak to move rather than Alex.

I wince as Philip starts to wrap my back, putting the wrap over my stomach and chest, covering all of my skin but leaving my arms free. After he finishes, he heads to the door but I speak up before he can leave. “What’s my mission?”

He lets out a long breath, slowly turning back to face me. His brow eyes give away nothing, neither does his dark brown, hard face. “I’ll tell you when you can walk again.”

I push myself to my feet, ignoring the agony it ignites in my back as I take a step towards him, forcing my body to obey me. “I can walk. Just tell me.”

He rubs his forehead, narrowing his eyes at me. “Sit down, Emily.”

I stand there, staring him down until he finally caves. “Fine. You’re going to Uthronien. You’re going to replace the princess and assassinate the king and prince from the inside.”

I lock my jaw to keep it from dropping. Uthronien? Kill the prince and king? “How am I supposed to replace the princess?”

“The prince married your twin sister.”

My heart stops beating. “My sister?”

I try to swallow, try to do anything to get past the shock. So after abandoning me they moved to our enemies lands and got my sister married off to the prince? My anger rises, slowly consuming me. “Am I supposed to kill her too?”

Philip shakes his head, his eyes still hard. “No. After your first… success, the Emperor had us track down your family and put them in a position where this could happen. They got married a month ago. She has a trip planned in three weeks. She will leave the palace, and you will return.”

I nod, excepting that before he continues. “You are going to have three weeks to learn to act like a court worthy young lady. And as the prince's wife.”

Oh gods. That hadn’t sunk in yet. I’ll have to pretend to be married to the bastard that I’m trying to kill. “Will I… will I have to… sleep with him?”

Philip's gaze doesn’t flicker. “If he expects it of you, yes. From what information we have gathered, he and Elizabeth have kept their separate rooms. It doesn’t seem like he’s eager to share a bed with her.”

I don’t know how to feel about that. Relief? Hope? I just pray that it doesn’t change. “Why can’t I just slip in and kill them during the night?”

“Because they would just put someone else on the throne. We want you to gain the peoples trust and so when the royal family falls, they look to you. You can peacefully let Paixvannoi in.”

Though I hate to admit it, it is a good plan. “When is Alex coming back?”

“In two weeks. Get some sleep, Emily.”

As soon as the door closes behind him, I go to my dresser and pull out some whiskey, slumping on a stool and slowly drinking the night away.

*********************

“Through the entryway of the palace, up the stairs on the right, the bedroom at the end of the hall.”

My tutor nods as I recite how to get to my room in the palace. “Good. The Library?”

“Through the entryway, it’s on the left.”

She nods at me. “Excellent. Now let’s try the dress again.”

I inwardly groan as a maid strips me of my fighting leathers and then ties up my undergarments and finally, the dress itself. It’s bright green and utterly useless in a fight. My nostrils flare and I look up at Ms. Delogo. “No. I don’t care if it is what Elizabeth normally wears. I need something thinner and that I can move in. No layers. And none of these underclothes that go all the way down my legs. My knives will get caught. Make a dress that will go fine with what I normally wear.”

Both the tutor and the maid stare at me, as if asking what the hell I was thinking and my temper flares. “Understood?”

The maid suddenly jumps into action, agreeing with me and quickly helping me out of the thing. I wave her away once I’m naked and dress back in my leathers, strapping my knives back onto my thighs. The tutor studies me as I finish. “Why don’t you go into town and specify what you want-need to the taylor. You can instruct him better than we can.”

I consider it for a moment before I nod. “Fine. I need to go check in with Philip. Have my horse ready in twenty minutes.”

The maid nods, scuttling away but Ms. Delogo stares me down. “You must stop drinking. Elizabeth doesn’t have a problem with it.”

I grind my teeth together, flexing my shoulders. The pain from my most recent whipping finally faded, and the new scars were already forming after a week and a half. Instead of responding, I turn, leaving the room.

Philip is waiting in his office when I get there. “I’ve heard you're doing well. Anything you’re struggling with?”

I plop down in a chair, my legs across one arm and my back to the other. “No. Yes. Those damn dresses. I’m going to go talk to the taylor right after this and get dresses that I can live with instead.”

Philip raises his eyebrows but I ask him a question before he can respond. “It is warm in Uthronien, right?”

He nods and I let out a grateful breath. “Good.”

Philip waits for a moment, insuring I’m done talking. “Alex will be home tonight.”

My heart jumps and I sit up, a smile crawling across my lips. “Really?”

Philip nods. “Yes. He should be here before dark. But, he’s hurt.”

My entire body locks up. “What?”

“He got in a fight with one of the guards protecting the man they were trying to kill. He killed the guard but not before the guard stabbed him.”

I bite my lip, forcing myself not to cry. “Will he be alright?”

“He should be fine. But he’s going to have to stay down for a good while. It sounded like it was bad.”

An ache forms in my chest and bile pools in my throat. I push myself to my feet, leaving without saying another word. My horse is ready when I reach the stables and I climb on, wearing a mask of stone as I turn her towards the taylors shop.

*********************

“Use pastel colors. And I want it light. Not more than a layer but make sure that every inch of my back is covered.” The taylor nods, his apprentice scrawling my demands down while the man himself sketches. He holds up a surprisingly detailed picture and I study it for a moment before I nod. “That’s fine. I don’t care if my stomach or legs are exposed, but give me places to hide knifes.”

The man nods again, looking at his assistant. The apprentice speaks up. “Thank you, ma’am. We will have them to you by the end of the week. How many do you want?”

“As many as you can make.” I drop a bag of money on the counter before I leave, looking up at the sky. It was getting close to sundown. I mount my horse. I don’t try to hurry. I let her walk along, in no rush. Instead, I watch the people. The streets. As we found a corner, an alley comes into view and a memory flashes with it.

I was eleven when I snuck out, exploring the streets. The family had caught my eye as I twirled my daggers around my fingers and I stopped to watch them for a moment before the boys eyes flicked to me. Our gazes met for a split second before I turned away, walking down the block. But I felt him follow me so I turned into the alley.

Only, he followed me into the alley. And it’s a dead end. I whirl, facing him in a crouch and pulling my knives up. “Hey, wait! Where’d you get those knives? They're amazing!” He holds his hands up, his eyes sliding from the daggers to my face.

I swallow, keeping my eyes focused on him. “They were a gift.”

The boy smiles, his blue green eyes lighting up. He runs a hand through his golden blond hair. “I’ll trade you.”

He holds up a bag and my eyes widen as I hear the clink of money inside. “This for one of them.”

I stare at the bag of money before I step forward and grab the blade of my knife, offering it to him. He smiles and grabs the handle, putting the money in my hand. “Thanks!”

I nod, tucking the money away inside my loose shirt. I watch as the boy turns, sliding the dagger into a sheath on his belt as he leaves. I let out a long breath and fish out the coin pouch, counting the money quickly. Fifty gold Paix’s. And laying at the bottom of the bag was a bracelet. I fish it out, studying the tiny emblem on it. Then I slowly slide it onto my wrist before I head back to the palace.

I jerk in my saddle, coming out of the memory and touching the bracelet on my wrist that I had nearly forgotten but hadn’t taken off in seven years.

I kick my horse a bit faster, heading back to the palace quickly. Just as I get there, horses come galloping up and my eyes widen as I see Alex, strapped to his horse. I leap from my own and run to him. He’s unconscious, his torso wrapped in a bloody bandage. A guard slides by me, undoing the straps and then lifting Alex into a stretcher that was waiting. No one dared speak as I followed them, watching as they stitch him up. I order them to take him to our room and no one fights me on it.

I watch him as he sleeps, studying his handsome face. He’s fine. He’ll be alright. I undress and climb into bed next to him, carefully laying my head on his shoulder. He sleeps all night. I don’t sleep at all.

*********************

Alex leans on his crutch, his face white as I kiss him. “Get feeling better, alright?”

He cups my cheek and kisses me again. “Be safe. Don’t let your guard down, alright? I need you to come home.”

I nod and he kisses my lips one last time before Philip takes my arm. I clench my jaw together and he slides a letter into my hand. “Good luck. Remember who the enemy is.”

I nod and he helps me into the carriage, my pastel red dress flowing around me. The back comes all the way up but the sleeves narrow, falling off my shoulders. The fabrics clings to my chest and stomach, but loosens around my naval, exposing my left thigh through a slit. I was still very much in fashion and was likely to set a new trend as the Uthronien people saw me.

I take a seat in the carriage, and tuck the letter away in a hidden pocket. I needed to pay the taylor more for his work. It was perfect. Alex steps up to the window and squeezes my hand once before the horses start trotting. I can’t help but stick my head out of the window, looking at him for as long as I can before we go through the palace gates and I lose sight of him. Sadness creeps into me as I tuck myself back inside the carriage.

There was no turning back. Not now. Not that there ever was a choice. It takes us two days to reach Uthronien. Two days. I stare up at the palace that I have to make my home and I take a deep breath. For Philip, I would do this. For Alex, I would come home. A footman opens the door and I take his hand, setting foot on the enemy’s ground for the first time.